Beware of Credit Card Fraud Schemes Coming from Singapore

We normally don’t discuss these types of issues but we felt this could potentially affect many of our customers and readers. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently received reports from companies in Florida that were almost victims of this latest credit card scheme. Thanks to the Department of Commerce alerts, the companies avoided being swindled. But if you are not careful, your company might not be so lucky.

American Internet retailers selling globally remain a primary target for credit card fraud schemes using Singapore as the purported ordering point and shipping destination. Detailed information on these fraud schemes can be found at:

http://www.buyusa.gov/singapore/en/warning_credit_card_fraud.html

The orders normally range from US $5,000 to US $30,000. The buyer places the order via telephone or Internet email correspondence. The buyer either splits the total purchase price between several cards or makes several attempts (using multiple credit card numbers) to complete the transaction. Once the transaction/credit card number(s) are accepted, the buyer requests immediate air shipment. Not aware of the fraud that has just occurred; the merchant complies with the customer’s request of an expedited shipment to a legitimate freight forwarder in Singapore. The merchant will then receive a chargeback from the credit card company after the card is reported stolen. By that time the goods have been transshipped out of Singapore and are unrecoverable.

The FBI is working with the Singapore Police and other law enforcement agencies in the region to combat this crime. If you suspect that you are in receipt of a fraudulent order and would like to verify its legitimacy, please contact your local U.S. Department of Commerce office, or the Commercial Service at the U.S. Embassy in Singapore at:

U.S. Commercial Service
Singapore.Office.Box@N0SPAM.mail.doc.gov
Tel: [+65] 6476-9037
Fax: [+65] 6476-9080